Penn State ‘fired up’ for series against Michigan

It may be one of the most important weeks for the Penn State men’s hockey team.

It’s time to prove the Nittany Lions belong, that they can skate with the best.

Big Ten supremacy is in the offing, as may be national opinion of Penn State and its postseason possibilities.

It’s a phrase that perks up Penn State teams in other sports as well, but there is an extra significance this year for this team: It’s Michigan week.

“We’re fired up,” junior forward and Michigan native Zach Saar said. “We’ve got a nice rivalry with them.”

The No. 15 Nittany Lions and No. 6 Wolverines tangle at 7 p.m. Thursday at Pegula Ice Arena, then again at 7 p.m. Saturday at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

There are so many reasons this week is significant.

There are the Big Ten standings — the teams are tied for second place, six points behind Minnesota, although the Golden Gophers have played two more games.

Also, Thursday is the only home game for Penn State in this series this season, with the other home date shifted to New York on Saturday. It puts even more pressure on Thursday’s contest for the Lions.

It’s also a matchup of two of the nation’s top offensive teams.

Penn State by far takes more shots on goal than any other team, and that helps lead the program to nearly four goals per game (3.96). But that pales in comparison to the Division I-leading rate of nearly five goals per night (4.86) for the Wolverines, who have a roster littered with NHL draft picks.

“They might have the best team that they’ve had since I’ve been here,” senior forward Tommy Olczyk said. “It’s going to be a big test for us.”

As much of college hockey lately has been bogged down in low-scoring games, these two teams are high-flying, up-tempo units that figure to be keeping goalies busy all night. And Michigan perhaps plays at an even faster pace than Penn State.

“It’s not a matter of changing,” coach Guy Gadowsky said of adjusting to their opponent’s tempo. “But we certainly are aware of the fact that often we talk about controlling our tempo to have teams match us. I’d be lying if we said … ‘The goal is to make Michigan match us.’ We understand how they play.”

Chief among the concerns for the Wolverines’ talent and tempo is their No. 1 scoring line. Kyle Connor, JT Compher and Tyler Motte are 1-2-3 in the Big Ten in scoring, and all are among the top 30 in the nation. Connor and Motte lead the Big Ten, and are tied for third in Division I, with 18 goals each, while Compher is the top helper with 25 assists, the conference’s best and No. 2 in the nation.

“We do not want to be tired against them,” said Gadowsky, adding he was not going to try to match up specific lines and play a defensive chess match. “We are going to try and make sure we’re fresh against them at all times.”

But the Nittany Lions have something in their favor that might not be expected given the relative resumes of each program — confidence. Penn State knows how to beat Michigan.

Penn State won six of the nine meetings between the teams the previous two seasons, sweeping a home series last March. There have been a number of special moments in the games as well, including a comeback win in Ann Arbor two years ago, scoring in the final seconds of regulation before winning in overtime, and getting the best of the Wolverines in double overtime of the Big Ten Tournament.

“The amount of success, for whatever reason, that we’ve been able to find against them,” Olczyk said, “I think we go in against them already with some confidence.”

There is much for the Nittany Lions to prove over the next three days, and some special experiences on the horizon as well when they are part of a unique doubleheader with their basketball program, who plays earlier in the day Saturday at The Garden.

But that prompts the coaches to break out the clichés and not look ahead.

“We have a really big game Thursday,” Gadowsky said. “That’s all we’re talking about right now.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 6:05 PM with the headline "Penn State ‘fired up’ for series against Michigan."